Adelaide High School
News
Edition No.6 | September 23 2019
FROM THE PRINCIPAL
In this Edition From the Principal
1
Calendar Dates
2
Prefects’ Quiz Night
2
Adelaide High Facebook and Instagram pages – our students are brilliant.
Ecovision 3 Birthing Kit Packing
3
She Leads Program
4
Ski Trip
4
Tournament of Minds
5
R U OK? Day
5
ETAG Report
6
Cabaret Night
6
Student Pathways Report
7
City of Adelaide Works
7
It is hard to believe we are nearing the end of Term 3. So much has happened this term and it has been wonderful to celebrate the qualities, skills and capabilities of our students. I’d like to acknowledge Ms Supriya Panjwani who has being supporting our pre-service teachers through providing professional learning focusing on the AITSL teacher standards. The workshops have been very well received and have provided the preservice teachers with a strong foundation. We have 9 teachers who will begin their preparation to be recognised as Highly Accomplished Teachers. The department is providing support for our teachers throughout this process. Our Student Free Day held on Thursday Week 7, provided staff with an opportunity to work closely in learning area teams focusing on our three Site Improvement Plan goals. This was an extremely productive day for both teaching and ancillary staff.
Adelaide High School West Terrace, Adelaide South Australia Phone 61 8 8231 9373 Facsimile 61 8 8212 7827 office@adelaidehs.sa.edu.au www.adelaidehs.sa.edu.au
The music team comprising Mr Con Piliouras, Mr Tim Moors and Ms Catherine Aldous, in partnership with Ms Michaela Moors and Ms Kerry Skinner, have redesigned the way students engage in bands at Adelaide High. A key part of this redefined structure is around student agency and ensuring students lead the operation of each band experience. The team will update you as plans are refined. Continuing the Arts theme, I had the opportunity to drop in on the first reading of the cast for the Grease production. It was wonderful to see the engagement of the students and the incredible excitement of both the staff and students. Please have a look at the promotional video for ‘Grease’ on the
We have created an exciting partnership with Microsoft and the Transforming Education project. We will have many opportunities to access programs and apps that enhance our work in maximising learning outcomes for students and transform the way we utilise our time. I will update Governing Council in future meetings. We have Principal Tours each week. We are averaging 50 per tour. These tours comprise families with students in Years 4, 5 and 6 and also families who currently have students within the zone but at private schools. It is fantastic to be able to ask students who we bump into on the tour to speak about different aspects of the school (from student leadership, movie making etc); always the students reflect absolute energy and excitement about all they are achieving. Congratulations to Ms Cheryl McGill and our students who engaged in the Tournament of Minds. They applied their Graduate Qualities and problem solving skills in a range of contexts and represented Adelaide High brilliantly. Mr Scott MacLeod has led our Debating teams expertly throughout the year. As the season closes I would like to acknowledge his excellent leadership in partnership with Bek and the English Learning Area team. I would like to acknowledge too, the fantastic work that Ms Ashleigh Bandiera undertakes for our school in partnership with Zonta. Ashleigh led the ‘She Leads’ initiative with a staff member from Mitcham Girls High School. Ten of our Year 10 students undertook this course with 10 students from Mitcham. The aim of the course was to further build in the students the skills to enable them to thrive in life beyond school, whilst engaging inspirational women to work with the students. The students graduated on Thursday of Week 9.
CALENDAR DATES September Mon 23 Deadline for Yearbook Payments Tues 24 Sports Assembly Tues 24 Year 9 Cybersafety Presentation Wed 25 Year 10 Cybersafety Presentation Wed 25 Year 11 Cybersafety Presentation Thurs 26 Achilles Cup Athletics Fri 27
End Term 3
October Mon 14 Term 4 commences Wed 16 Stage 2 Exam Prep Assembly Wed 16 Governing Council Meeting Thurs 17 Interact BBQ and Casual Day Tues 22 Year 8 Vaccinations Fri 25
Senior Speech Day Assembly
Wed 30 Prefect Elections
FROM THE PRINCIPAL (cont) Our Year 11 Dance students, under the leadership of Ms Kerry Skinner, performed as part of the Peace Rules Performing Arts Award Showcase. They performed with expertise and presented an inspirational piece. The Prefects’ Quiz night was held recently and provided an opportunity for the Prefects to work together to raise money for the Smith Family.
Things are progressing well with our two major builds – the Performing Arts Centre (which is actually ahead of schedule) and the $18 million Capital Works investment. I acknowledge the incredible work of Mr Jim Dounas and Ms Shauna Kay for their preparation and work behind the scenes. Kind regards, Ms Cez Green | Principal
PREFECTS’ QUIZ NIGHT Thank you to everyone who supported the Prefects’ Quiz Night a few weeks ago. Through the generous donations from members of the school community and sponsorship from a number of businesses, the Prefects were able to offer a large range of prizes, raffle and silent auction items and ultimately raised $2000 for The Smith Family. Thank you to the Quizmaster, Assistant Principal Mr Mark Woolfall,
who was enthusiastic in his role, even incorporating some cheesy jokes to garner laughs from the audience, and provided great encouragement for teams when any particularly hard questions emerged. Well done to the Prefects who worked collaboratively to organise all aspects of such a successful night in what was their last function for the year.
November Mon 4 Stage 2 Exams begin Mon 4 Newsletter 7 Distributed Wed 6
Governing Council Meeting
For a comprehensive list of upcoming events, log onto the searchable Calendar and Events database on the website (https://www.adelaidehs.sa.edu.au/ About/Calendar-and-Events).
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Grease is the word... and Adelaide High School students will be performing Grease: The Musical in the school hall on the evenings of December 3, 4 and 5. Tickets will go on sale early next term.
3 ECOVISION Ecovision in 2019 was a new and fun experience for many of the students who decided to take part in the tree planting on September 10. On the day, we planted a few hundred trees which will provide many benefits for the environment, things such as reducing the carbon concentration in the atmosphere and reducing the effects of global warming and climate change, but they will also act as a shelter for wildlife once they’ve had more time to grow. Other than the environmental impacts, the activity also gave us
students time to spend together as a community, getting to know each other better. The weather on the day was perfect to spend outside, making the whole event more enjoyable. Personally, I enjoyed the whole experience, as it was nice to be outside with other people doing things for a good cause. Amber Wong | 9V127
BIRTHING KIT PACKING Each year, students, staff and members from our community come together to assist in assembling birthing kits. This year our student-led Interact team helped to fundraise with a school casual day and a number of individual members also raised their own funds. The price of our kits went up and thus our new aim was to assemble 400 kits, a fantastic effort! Many of our staff, students and extended community came together to help pack each kit, Adelaide High School alongside the Zonta Club of Adelaide. We also had support from the ISEC class and, with community service as a focus, some Year 9 students assisted in the packing process, with the cause aiming to reduce birth-related infections.
In the lead up to the day, students were exposed to stories told by some of the strong women in developing communities, advocating for the importance of birthing kits. This year the packing process took 2 hours and students often leave feeling empowered, especially this year, given so many had contributed to fundraising as well as the assembling of the kits. Importantly, we recognise the ongoing contributions made by the Zonta Club of Adelaide and the Adelaide Hills Catholic Parish. This year, all 400 kits will support many women in the developing communities in Africa. Ms Ashleigh Bandiera | Staff Member and Zonta Club of Adelaide Member
Edition No. 6 | September 23, 2019
SHE LEADS PROGRAM In partnership with YWCA, Mitcham Girls High School and Zonta, 14 Adelaide High School students participated in a leadership program called SHE LEADS. This is the first time this program has been offered to our Year 10 female cohort. Students were selected through an application process facilitated by both schools and the Zonta Club of Adelaide. The course is built to support development in leadership skills. It is focused to help students progress in strong, community-minded independence, empowering them to consider what it means to be a leader through a range of qualities. This opportunity only came
about through the partnership Adelaide High School has with the Zonta Club of Adelaide who contributed significantly to fund part of this course. On September 19, students graduated after completing the 8 weeks of training. The evening began with student reflections and ended with each being awarded a certificate. Eventually, students will demonstrate the skills learnt by being involved in some community based programs run by the Zonta Club of Adelaide. Ms Ashleigh Bandiera | Staff Member and Zonta Club of Adelaide Member
SKI TRIP This year 36 Adelaide High students and 5 staff flew to Melbourne and then chartered a coach to Falls Creek, Victoria, to experience magnificent snow conditions, snowboarding and skiing. Most of the group had never seen snow before and, on arrival Thursday afternoon, it was snowing. Participants headed straight up the Gully chairlift and the snowball fights began and so did the enjoyment. Intermediate and advanced level students began skiing on Thursday afternoon while all the beginners explored their new alpine surroundings, went tobogganing and in the evening watched the fireworks. After 3 days of lessons, students were confidently skiing down slopes basking in sunshine, with fabulous views and well over a metre depth of snow. Students learnt how to ski or snowboard, demonstrating good technical efficiency, how to undertake snow activities safely, and learnt safety procedures associated with alpine conditions and environmental factors. The group stayed at Alpine View Apartments in Falls Creek Bowl, which allowed the students to enjoy the buzz of night skiing on Saturday night. Thank you to the fabulous team of staff, Mr Michail Darley,
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Mr Giuseppe Laera, Ms Summer Xia and Ms Kerry Skinner for contributing to make the ski trip a success. Ms Sue Shillabeer | Ski Trip Coordinator
5 TOURNAMENT OF MINDS Tournament of Minds is a problem solving, student driven program for teams of students from both primary and secondary years. The event is held at Flinders University, with the entire campus transformed with hundreds of students practising and acting their prepared challenges ready to perform in front of a group of judges for the title of State Champion. Challenges are divided into four different scenarios pertaining to the following disciplines: The Arts, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering Maths), Language & Literature, and Social Sciences.
convincing everyone who listened to their argument that these were the most important species to be saved. The team should be very proud of themselves for their organisation, teamwork, humour, lateral thinking, adaptation and the learning which occurred throughout. Huge thanks go to Aidan Griffen and Chris McWhirter-Whitlock who ably assisted the team throughout the year in readiness for the day. Ms Cheryl McGill | TOM Facilitator
This year our team of Prisha Anand, Ethan Gerlach, Mitchell Herbert, Anjali Beams, Rajesh Gurumoorthy and Cooper Smiles chose the conundrum of the STEM challenge which was to build a carousel machine which carried endangered species and their DNA for future collection to take them off the endangered list. They needed to create and place models of species on a handmade machine and demonstrate at least three complete circuits or rotations. After much research and reasoning, the 5 different endangered species chosen by our team were Asian Ginseng, Sugar Maple Tree, Dinosaur Ant, Bilby, and Spix Macaw. These species and their reason for choice were described expertly, convincingly and with gusto by each team member. They decided to build a 3-dimensional model which was also part of a design course, but unfortunately this didn’t eventuate due to technical issues beyond the students’ control. Hastily a cardboard model was created. Although disappointed that their original model wasn’t able to be used, the team rallied and performed brilliantly,
R U OK? DAY R U OK? Day (Thursday 12 September) was Australia’s national day of action dedicated to reminding everyone that every day is the day to ask, “Are you ok?” and support those struggling with life’s ups and downs. Macghey House took the initiative to promote the day as part of their wellbeing and citizenship focus. I would like to thank the Macghey Student Leaders for organising the Casual Day – with money raised going to Beyond Blue and RU OK - and lunchtime get together in the quadrangle. The atmosphere
was fantastic with the Rock Band playing and numerous activities for students to be involved in on a beautiful spring day. Everyone was connected and having fun and conversation. The sticky note board idea ‘What to say to make someone’s day’ was a huge success - well done Swanika and Ms Sandison - and these boards are now displayed in the Macghey Senior and Middle School areas. Thank you to everyone involved. Mr Mark Woolfall | Assistant Principal: Macghey House
Edition No. 6 | September 23, 2019
ADELAIDE HIGH WORKING TOWARDS AN ECO-FRIENDLY LEARNING ENVIRONMENT On September 3, the Environmental Take Action Group (ETAG) comprising students from Year 8 to Year 12, took part in a discussion with the architects to incorporate sustainable practices in the new building project which will begin in 2020. Students provided inspirational ideas that could showcase learning in an eco-friendly environment. Some topics discussed included passive design approaches, sustainability construction targets, feedback on the buildings recently completed and productive use of space for working and learning in the 21st century. Here are some of their thoughts: “I was surprised that the architects valued sustainability and considered reaching an 85% renewable material target for the new building.” Gianni Cirocco, Year 11 “The experience proved to be beneficial to both the architects and the student group, as both were able to gain a valuable insight and
voice their ideas and concerns relating to the new construction. I also thought it was awesome that the school was interested in the thoughts and opinions of the people that will eventually be utilising the new space (the students).” Zoe Tiffen, Year 12 “I was excited about the meeting with the architect as we would obtain a detailed insight into what happens behind the construction of the new buildings. I loved that I got the chance to share my ideas with professionals and felt that our team’s ideas were heard and considered. Hopefully our meeting was productive and our ideas of more sustainable construction will be heard!” Sophie Zavlaguas, Year 10 “I’m so glad that I had the opportunity to provide feedback on the current heating system in the new Science building.” David Farr, Year 8
CABARET NIGHT The Adelaide High School Music Department was delighted to present this year’s Cabaret Night on Friday, August 30 in the school Hall. This event was the major performance for all of our large ensembles and was a wonderful celebration of the diligent work throughout the year of our staff and students alike. The evening began with a high energy set of Pop and Rock classics from Stage Band which captivated and enthralled the audience. Concert Band were next with their debut public performance which was energetic and engaging despite their nerves. Adelaide Vocal
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were able to share with the audience the beautiful set which earned them an honorable mention at the Balaklava Eisteddfod. Following the interval, Orchestra took to the stage for a dynamic set of crowdpleasing favourites to continue the Pop and Rock theme. The finale for the evening was a tribute to the music of Queen, beginning with Adelaide Vocal performing “Don’t Stop Me Now” and then Rock Band joined Orchestra to present a rich and authentic arrangement of “Bohemian Rhapsody”. Ms Catherine Aldous | Music Teacher / Production Manager
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2019 VET courses
STUDENT PATHWAYS UPDATE
This is a final reminder regarding finalising Structured Work Placement arrangements for any current VET students who need to tend to this requirement during the October school holidays. Please submit the completed Workplace Learning Agreement Form as soon as possible to allow sufficient time for final approval and processing. All VET students need to adhere to due dates for work submission, as stated by their trainer, in order to avoid incurring extra fees if marking and resulting need to occur early next year. RTOs are aware that all schools require 2019 VET results to be received by mid-November, at the latest, to allow for entry onto Schools Online. Current VET students are asked to see me ASAP if they are having trouble meeting these requirements.
VET and Subject Selection for 2020
I have been enrolling Years 9 – 11 students in 2020 vocational courses this term. This includes courses offered by our EASVA (Eastern Adelaide Schools Vocational Alliance, https://www.easva.sa.edu.au) other alliances and by a variety of RTOs. This link at the same site contains some vital information about VET https://www.easva. sa.edu.au/pages/public/page.aspx?P=49e% 2fWuElAtttx29XEmPpOw%3d%3d. Enrolments will continue into Term 4, assuming there are vacancies. News about course confirmation is generally communicated directly to the students concerned and includes important relevant details of which students must take note. I suggest 2020 students store relevant documents in their VET folder.
Interested students who are still undecided about whether or not to commence vocational training in 2020 are advised to arrange a meeting time with me soon so that we can go through the information, expectations, benefits and responsibilities. VET study incurs training fees for the families concerned so it is vital that each student is prepared to make a sustained commitment to vocational training and selects the most appropriate course for them. Contact me if you have any queries or ask your son / daughter to make a time to see me.My office is in The Help Hub, but the best way to contact me is via email livia.daloia@adelaidehs.sa.edu.au. Ms Livia D’Aloia | Student Pathways Coordinator
CITY OF ADELAIDE WORKS AROUND ADELAIDE HIGH SCHOOL 2019-20
As part of its 2019-20 works program, the City of Adelaide is planning some significant projects in proximity to the Adelaide High School. They include:
• Building on recent investments in the Comets’ new sports building and Adelaide High Schools own upgrades, following design in 2018-19, constructing a new entrance in Tampawardli (Park 24) delivering carparking, paving, landscaping and access improvements. It is anticipated that construction will commence this financial year.
Adelaide High School Newsletter
• In partnership with the SA Government, a $1m improvement to intersection of West Terrace and Currie Street. This project will focus primarily on the safety of students from the Adelaide High School. It is planned to be delivered during an upcoming school holiday period (which one to be confirmed based on contractor availability) to minimise disruption to the school community.
• The City Skate Park ($3m grant funded) is planned for Gladys Elphick Park / Narnunnga (Park 25) north of the school on the opposite side of Glover Avenue. This follows from the enhancement that occurred across 2017-18 and 201819 with the SACA redevelopment and councils own Park Land improvement. During 2019-20 we will be progressing with the design for the project and hope to commence construction with completion in the 2020-21 financial year. City of Adelaide
Department for Education T/A South Australian Government Schools | CRICOS provider number 00018A © Adelaide High School 2019